Located in the heart of the old city, Salzburg’s Residenzplatz is the place to be on a sunny evening – if only for the people watching. It’s bounded on all sides by famous buildings such as the Dom (“Cathedral”), Michaelskirche, the Glockenspiel, and Salzburg’s Residenz palace (a.k.a the Alte Residenz or “Old Residence”). The Residenzplatz also holds the Residenzbrunnen, the largest Baroque fountain of its kind outside of Italy.

It should surprise no one who has been in Salzburg for more than a day that the Residenzplatz is the brainchild of Prince Archishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau. To make room for his grand vision, he bowled 55 existing burgher’s houses in 1587, just before he began eyeing up the aging cathedral for a resurrection. Archaeologists have found a late 16th century cemetery lurking under the square.

Salzburg’s merry Glockenspiel plays tunes from Haydn and Mozart. Built at the beginning of the 18th century, it has 35 bells in total, with a range of over three octaves with all semitones. You’ll find it standing kitty-corner to Michaelskirche on the Residenzplatz; it carols daily at 7 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

(Glockenspiel aficionados may also want to investigate the charming piece in Graz.)

Up until the 12th century, “St. Michael’s Church” was used as a palace chapel and parish church. The emperor and entourage were able to access the upper sector directly from the palace; plebeians had to enter the lower sector from the town square. The baroque dome was added from 1767-1776, when the church was remodeled and refurnished.

Located on the Getreidegasse, the Altes Rathaus (“Old City Hall”) was a court of justice and the seat of government until 1947. Although it began its life as a burgher’s house, it came into the city’s possession in 1407. Salzburg tourism sites claim that the tower’s clockwork is “probably the oldest in all of Austria.”

Getreidegasse is probably the busiest pedestrian thoroughfare in Austria. (I was about to say Europe, but then I remembered the horrors of a Venice summer.)

It was the main street through Salzburg in the medieval period, and was regularly flooded with water from the Almkanal to keep it tidy. Today, you’re more likely to run into Americans singing a’cappella renditions of Pink Floyd than the doctors and craftsmen who once lived here.

Getreidegasse is the street where Mozart was born, which accounts for a lot of the popularity. The intricate guild signs encrusted with gold are another attraction. Where once there were breweries and charity bathhouses, there are now international jewelry shops, Mozart chocolates and a tastefully camouflaged McDonald’s.